Comments on: Blogs and government response to citizens http://www.purecaffeine.com/2009/09/blogs-and-government-response-to-citizens/ purecaffeine: ux design & creative thinking for coffee-lovers Tue, 07 Sep 2010 13:16:50 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.9.1 hourly 1 By: Craig Thomler http://www.purecaffeine.com/2009/09/blogs-and-government-response-to-citizens/comment-page-1/#comment-37 Craig Thomler Sun, 06 Sep 2009 12:01:42 +0000 http://www.purecaffeine.com/?p=93#comment-37 A number of government departments still have emails on a 28 day response time (like their mail response), on the basis that to make the response faster would discriminate against people without email access. Most Australian government blogs have been structured on a 9-5 Mon-Fri moderation cycle. Therefore sorting out the appropriate timeframes for response - and who is allowed to send those responses - is still a contentious issue, and will be for years I expect. In terms of your two questions, below are my views: 1) Receipt is considered in mail terms when the letter arrives at the government office - which can still be a number of days before it reaches someone able to respond. In terms of email it is considered when it arrives at the organisation's mail server - therefore for social media it should be when it arrives at the government's server/site. When the comment/post is NOT made on a government site, such as a discussion in a third-party forum, it should be based on when the government agency checks the forum, which should be on a regular cycle. 2) Is a response via social media a direct response? I'd say yes. It is in direct reply to the customer's comment/question. When government responds by mail, it doesn't matter if the customer reads it or not - it has been sent. If the medium reflects the one the customer uses, and the customer could reasonably expect a response in that manner, then the response is sufficient. If the customer did not expect a response in that manner, additional notification is prudent. Cheers, Craig A number of government departments still have emails on a 28 day response time (like their mail response), on the basis that to make the response faster would discriminate against people without email access.

Most Australian government blogs have been structured on a 9-5 Mon-Fri moderation cycle.

Therefore sorting out the appropriate timeframes for response – and who is allowed to send those responses – is still a contentious issue, and will be for years I expect.

In terms of your two questions, below are my views:

1) Receipt is considered in mail terms when the letter arrives at the government office – which can still be a number of days before it reaches someone able to respond. In terms of email it is considered when it arrives at the organisation’s mail server – therefore for social media it should be when it arrives at the government’s server/site.

When the comment/post is NOT made on a government site, such as a discussion in a third-party forum, it should be based on when the government agency checks the forum, which should be on a regular cycle.

2) Is a response via social media a direct response? I’d say yes. It is in direct reply to the customer’s comment/question. When government responds by mail, it doesn’t matter if the customer reads it or not – it has been sent. If the medium reflects the one the customer uses, and the customer could reasonably expect a response in that manner, then the response is sufficient. If the customer did not expect a response in that manner, additional notification is prudent.

Cheers,

Craig

]]> By: NathanaelB http://www.purecaffeine.com/2009/09/blogs-and-government-response-to-citizens/comment-page-1/#comment-29 NathanaelB Thu, 03 Sep 2009 03:45:45 +0000 http://www.purecaffeine.com/?p=93#comment-29 Kylie, I expect the pioneers leading the charge in Gov 2.0 will be people like myself, motivated and passionate innovators and do'ers ... and that expectation is consistent with the representation I see at the forefront. This being the case, those sort of people, like myself, will be working nights and weekend, following up on blog comments, mentions and links because we love doing it. So I expect the issue of responsiveness won't surface till sometime later when the hype is over, we've all moved on and it falls back to the structure in general to support that function. The issue will be exacerbated by the fact that the pioneers will have done the organisations as disfavour by setting high expectations through their keenness. Anyway, I could be wrong - but that's how I see it from my view of this part of the world. Thanks for your comment! Kylie,

I expect the pioneers leading the charge in Gov 2.0 will be people like myself, motivated and passionate innovators and do’ers … and that expectation is consistent with the representation I see at the forefront. This being the case, those sort of people, like myself, will be working nights and weekend, following up on blog comments, mentions and links because we love doing it.

So I expect the issue of responsiveness won’t surface till sometime later when the hype is over, we’ve all moved on and it falls back to the structure in general to support that function.

The issue will be exacerbated by the fact that the pioneers will have done the organisations as disfavour by setting high expectations through their keenness.

Anyway, I could be wrong – but that’s how I see it from my view of this part of the world.

Thanks for your comment!

]]> By: Kylie Johnson http://www.purecaffeine.com/2009/09/blogs-and-government-response-to-citizens/comment-page-1/#comment-28 Kylie Johnson Thu, 03 Sep 2009 02:16:00 +0000 http://www.purecaffeine.com/?p=93#comment-28 Really interesting points. The issue of responsiveness is key to any discussion around citizen engagement with government. In my experience, it's a matter of very slow moving, conservative 'structures' being forced to speed up to effectively engage with a public that expects a swift response. In the end, these organisations will be compelled to overhaul their procedures, but I do worry about how long it takes in some cases. Really interesting points. The issue of responsiveness is key to any discussion around citizen engagement with government. In my experience, it’s a matter of very slow moving, conservative ’structures’ being forced to speed up to effectively engage with a public that expects a swift response. In the end, these organisations will be compelled to overhaul their procedures, but I do worry about how long it takes in some cases.

]]> By: Keith Lyons http://www.purecaffeine.com/2009/09/blogs-and-government-response-to-citizens/comment-page-1/#comment-27 Keith Lyons Thu, 03 Sep 2009 01:17:03 +0000 http://www.purecaffeine.com/?p=93#comment-27 Wow ... a 4 minute turn around ... I had gone off to Twitter in the interim. Thanks for replying. I think the key message for me in your response is engagement. I recall the phrase (c 1865) ... government of the people, by the people, for the people! I think this is the essence of n.0 for me ... we use the available technology to (bravely) empower participation and engagement. Thanks, Nathanael Wow … a 4 minute turn around … I had gone off to Twitter in the interim. Thanks for replying. I think the key message for me in your response is engagement. I recall the phrase (c 1865) … government of the people, by the people, for the people! I think this is the essence of n.0 for me … we use the available technology to (bravely) empower participation and engagement. Thanks, Nathanael

]]> By: NathanaelB http://www.purecaffeine.com/2009/09/blogs-and-government-response-to-citizens/comment-page-1/#comment-26 NathanaelB Thu, 03 Sep 2009 01:05:52 +0000 http://www.purecaffeine.com/?p=93#comment-26 We make an effort to brand track all mentions of our project Training.gov.au and engage on other forums and blog posts ... but we do that out of desire to engage, not because some SLA necessitates it. An interesting point though - with your blog post. I read it earlier this morning; haven't commented yet - but if/when I do even though I'll be responding as myself and not representing the Government, but does the distinction matter? The answer is probably "yes" but it's still interesting to think about, the lines blurring between government, government staff engaging as government staff and government staff engaging as themselves. We make an effort to brand track all mentions of our project Training.gov.au and engage on other forums and blog posts … but we do that out of desire to engage, not because some SLA necessitates it.

An interesting point though – with your blog post. I read it earlier this morning; haven’t commented yet – but if/when I do even though I’ll be responding as myself and not representing the Government, but does the distinction matter? The answer is probably “yes” but it’s still interesting to think about, the lines blurring between government, government staff engaging as government staff and government staff engaging as themselves.

]]> By: Keith Lyons http://www.purecaffeine.com/2009/09/blogs-and-government-response-to-citizens/comment-page-1/#comment-25 Keith Lyons Thu, 03 Sep 2009 00:57:00 +0000 http://www.purecaffeine.com/?p=93#comment-25 Nathaniel What an interesting post. I think Government n.0 will need to develop capability and capacity in this space. I wondered what role you thought RSS may play in this. I wondered too if what happens when a post to a Government n.0 site uses a link to a statement of ideas. For example, if I was keen to explore social inclusion with DEEWR and linked to http://keithlyons.wordpress.com/2009/09/03/minds-on-the-margins/ would I anticipate a response to my point of contact and the blog post? Best wishes Keith Nathaniel

What an interesting post. I think Government n.0 will need to develop capability and capacity in this space. I wondered what role you thought RSS may play in this. I wondered too if what happens when a post to a Government n.0 site uses a link to a statement of ideas. For example, if I was keen to explore social inclusion with DEEWR and linked to http://keithlyons.wordpress.com/2009/09/03/minds-on-the-margins/ would I anticipate a response to my point of contact and the blog post?

Best wishes

Keith

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